Legends of Brawl
by Vimuku
Summary: SSBB: Pit, Ike, and Marth team up to fight in a tournament, but little do they know, that they will be tossed into a conspiracy to take over the entire world of Brawl, and now they must work together to fight new foes and dangers like never before...
1. Registration

Hi, guys

**Hi, guys!! I'm back with ANOTHER brand-new story!!**

**Honou: You really should finish up your old ones… I mean, they're just sitting there…**

**Me: Whatever… Anyway, this is, as you can see, a Brawl fanfic!! YAY!! It will be a kind of humor fic, but it should have some semblance of a plot… Hopefully, if all goes well… LOL, anyway, read and review!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the Super Smash Bros. franchise…. Hell, I don't even own the game… or a Wii… TT (How depressing…)**

**Chapter 1: Registration**

Pit trotted cheerily along the Bridge of Eldin, walking alongside the various warriors that were making their way to Hyrule to sign up for the annual Brawl Tournament. Pit glanced around the people surrounding him; almost all of them were renowned fighters from all over the globe from Donkey Kong to Solid Snake. Pit was a virtual unknown; he had never fought in a tournament before, at least nothing as grand or famous as the Brawl Tournament. He clenched his bow tightly; he just had to believe in himself and he would be able to-

"Hey, who's that?"

"Ha! I feel sorry for him."

"What a loser. He couldn't even make it to the Temple."

Pit squirmed his way through the onlookers to see what they were commenting about. It was a man, tall and muscular by his frame, but most of his body and face was covered by a drab, red cloak, tattered at the ends. He was slumped precariously on the edge of the bridge, dangerously close to falling off. The onlookers continued moving, only commenting every now and then, but didn't make a move to help the poor guy out.

Pit rolled his eyes; this was why he hated mingling in society. People never did know how to show sympathy. He glided over to the warrior, "Oy, you alright?"

The man groaned, "Ugnh… Hungry…" He leaned back, but there was no wall for him to lean against and so fell off the bridge to plummet down to the ground.

Pit cursed as he leapt over, tucking in his wings as he dived down to catch the falling warrior. As soon as his arms were around the man's torso, he snapped open his wings, trying to fly back to the bridge. But whoever this guy was, he was REALLY heavy.

"Damn, you need to get on a diet or something…" Pit grunted, "You're as heavy as-" He nearly dropped his passenger, "Shit!!"

Somehow, Pit managed to make it back to the bridge, after immense struggle and effort. He slapped the warrior, "Hey, you okay?"

The man's hood had fallen off, revealing a strong face with a shock of short, dark, blue hair. He groaned, "Food…"

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Pit had half-dragged the starved man to Hyrule and ducked into one of the small restaurants. As they ate, the man had introduced himself as Ike, a swordsman participating in the Brawl Tournament.

"Ike, huh…" Pit mused, "I don't think I've ever heard of you."

Ike managed to say between bites, "I'm not surprised."

"Is this your first time in a tournament?"

Ike grinned, "Something like that."

"Hmm. No wonder."

"What about you?" Ike asked.

Pit shrugged, "Also my first time. Just decided to give it a shot."

"Hmm." Ike swallowed the last bit of food and sighed, "Thanks for the meal."

Pit dug for some gold in his pouch, "So you're here for the registration, right?"

Ike nodded.

Pit placed a few gold coins on the table, "Well, we better get going if we don't want to be late."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

The pair made their way to the center of Hyrule Temple, where most of the fighters had already gathered. The host of the tournament, Mr. Game and Watch, was standing on a platform in front, waiting patiently for the rest of the attendees to gather.

"Welcome, everyone," Mr. Game and Watch announced, "I'm glad to see that many are participating in our 100th Brawl Tournament. Since this is its centennial birthday, things are going to be a tad bit different. The entire tournament will be divided into four parts, the first being the preliminaries, which will take place at Luigi's Mansion, who has kindly rented out his place for our use. In the first three rounds, teams of 1 to 3 must be made in order to participate. After your team is registered, you cannot have it changed. I will give you an hour to create you teams."

Ike grinned, "Well, that's new."

Pit nodded, "Yeah. I guess… We could team up?"

Ike shrugged, "Sure. I owe you for the meal."

Pit glanced around, "I don't think there's anyone else who's gonna join us. I mean… They're all already teaming up."

That was true; most of the notable players had already teamed up. The Mario Bros. and Peach had already created their team. Link, Toon Link, and Zelda also had formed together. Lucario, Pikachu, and Pokemon Trainer had also formed into a team. Kirby, Meta Knight, and Dedede were already registering as well as Fox, Falco, and Captain Falcon.

Ike noticed a lone swordsman in the corner, the others seemingly giving him a wide berth, and pointed him out, "What about him?"

Pit glanced at the direction he was pointing, and his eyes widened, "That's Marth! He was the winner of last year's Brawl Tournament, but his fame doesn't end there!! They say he's a genius with a sword, totally unbeatable. Second to him was Roy, a fire swordsman, who was the swifter, but not nearly as skilled. They used to fight together as a team whenever possible, but Roy disappeared a few years back, which contributed all the more to his legend. Now Marth chooses to fight alone."

Ike grinned, "Then he's the guy to have in our team."

Pit shook his head, "No way!! He'd probably beat us up on the spot. There's no way he'll team up with noobs like us!!"

Ike spun his sword in his hand, "Only one way to find out."

Pit scrabbled at his cape, "Wait, you idiot!!" But Ike was already sauntering over to the blue-haired swordsman.

Marth didn't even look up as Ike stopped in front of him. "Hey, there," Ike greeted, "I'm Ike, and I'm looking for another teammate. You mind joining us?"

Marth remained silent, totally ignoring Ike as if he didn't exist. Ike reached over, "Hey, come on, don't be all moody like-"

Marth grabbed Ike's outstretched arm and twisted it, slamming the heavy swordsman down on his back to the ground.

Ike felt the air whoosh out of his lungs and coughed as he struggled to get back up, "I'm just trying to be friendly, but you're really-"

Marth drew his sword and pointed it at Ike's face, "Shut up. I don't want to waste my time with someone as pathetic as you."

Ike's eyes narrowed, "Okay, you've just crossed the line there, man." He swung around his own sword, Ragnell, knocking aside Marth's sword as he stood up. "I hope you're ready to take it back."

Marth smirked, "In your dreams."

Ike lunged in with a Quick Draw, but Marth easily Countered it and attacked with Dancing Blade. Ike managed to block the last attack and struck with a wide, horizontal slice.

Marth leapt above the blow and lifted his sword to slice down, but Ike threw his sword up in the air yelling, "Yiiiiahhhh!! Aether!!" He jumped up and caught the sword and slammed Marth down.

Marth managed to block the worst of it with his sword and pushed off Ike as he leapt backwards. He was panting slightly, "You're better than you look. Seems I have to get semi-serious."

Ike grinned, "You know, with that attitude of yours, I'm not surprised most people want to avoid you. You're really not a very sociable guy..." He brought his sword back to charge for his Quick Draw, and lunged in.

Marth anticipated the attack and leapt up, but then Ike quickly threw his sword up for another Aether. As Ike jumped to grab his sword, Marth sliced downwards, sending Ike crashing down to the ground, obliterating the ground around him.

Ike struggled out of the rubble, "Ouch. That actually hurt."

Marth landed nimbly behind him, "Don't get so laidback. How are you gonna fight without a sword?" He lunged in with a Dancing Blade, and Ike glanced back, noticing Ragnell was a few feet off. Ike rolled back, grabbing his sword as he hit the ground and Countered the Dancing Blade.

Marth rolled with the damage and dashed in with a quick, diagonal slash. Ike dodged to the side and Side Smashed Marth, sending him flying across the square until he slammed into a wall. Marth coughed, "Damn, that was… strong."

Ike leapt up, "I'm not done yet." He lifted his sword and charged up for an Eruption, "Take this, you sorry-"

Suddenly, a huge Galleom crashed into the stage, sending Ike flying into a wall. Panic ensued after the Galleom's entrance, and most scrambled for the nearest exit.

Pit lunged in against the surging crowd, "Great time to crash a party…" He shot a shining blue, arrow at the huge machine as he launched himself to the sky, "Hey, there you hunk of junk!! Get outta here!!"

The Galleom glared at the flying Pit and grunted angrily. He swatted at Pit as if he was an annoying fly, roaring in frustration as Pit dodged his attack.

Pit raspberried, "Nya, nya, nya…"

The Galleom roared with rage, spun around, and slammed the ground with both fists, creating a huge shockwave that send Pit crashing to the ground.

Pit winced as he landed on his wing and gingerly tried to stretch it out. Pain shot up through it, and he cried out, "Shit!!"

The Galleom's eyes gleamed in triumph and stomped across the field, ready to smash Pit into a pancake. But then, Link jumped in and carried the winged boy to safety, "You alright?"

Pit flinched, "My wing…"

Link landed next to Zelda, "She'll take care of you." He turned back to the metal-encased beast. He pulled out a bomb, "Eat this!!"

Lucario was standing atop a ruin behind Link and fired a huge Aura Sphere at the Galleom with Fox and Falco, who were firing their blasters.

Dedede and Kirby jumped in from behind and slammed down the Galleom with their huge hammers. Meta Knight charged in with a Drill Rush and pierced through the Galleom's leg, while Captain Falcon took out his other leg with a Falcon Punch.

As the Galleom fell to the ground, Ike lunged in, "And to finish it off…" He threw up his sword in a manner very similar to Aether, except his sword was now flaming. He performed a series of flaming slashes and kicks and finally slammed down his sword, slicing the Galleon in half and destroying it with the resulting, flaming explosion.

Ike landed to the ground in a crouch, cape flowing behind him.

"That wasa nicea finish," Mario congratulated, "Whata wasa thata thing?"

Ike shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Marth examined the remains of the destroyed Galleom, "A Galleom, by the looks of it. It's a type of cyborg."

"What was it doing here?" Link asked.

"Yeah, aren't Galleom supposed to be locked up someplace?" Fox asked.

Mr. Game and Watch trotted over, "I'm terribly sorry. This was really an unexpected event. I apologize for the interruption. You may all register next week. Again terribly sorry."

The fighters made their way out of Hyrule, discussing the Galleom's attack, Ike and Pit among them.

"What do you think made it go berserk?" Pit asked, "I've never seen that happen."

Ike nodded, "Well, I've never seen on of those, period."

Pit was surprised, "Really? I thought everyone knew about them. They wee part of a scandal a couple months back. Something about a subspace… I'm not really too sure of the whole story."

Ike just nodded absently, "Really…?" Then he snapped up, "Oh, shit!!"

Pit whirled around, "What? Another attack?"

Ike slapped his forehead, "I forgot about Marth!!"

Pit stared at him in disbelief, "Why do you want him to join our team so bad?"

Ike fingered the hilt of his sword, "He's strong. It took all I had to just repel him."

Pit snorted, "Of course. He is last year's champion." He paused, "You were pretty good yourself though. How come you've never participated in a tournament?"

Ike stared into the sky absently, "Ahh, so peaceful. I just wanna sit and have a cup of tea."

A vein popped on Pit's head, "Oy, are you listening to me?"

Ike turned to Pit, "Hey… I just realized… I don't have a place to stay… Can I stay at your place?"

Pit sighed, "You can stay at a hotel you know?"

Ike grinned sheepishly, "No money."

Pit rolled his eyes, "You really don't know how to plan ahead. Fine, you can crash at my place for now."

"Hmph, I think I'm beginning to regret my choice."

Ike and Pit whirled around at the familiar voice. Marth stood behind them, toying with his neat, blue hair, "Honestly…"

Ike grinned, "So, thinking of joining us?"

Marth crossed his arms, "Don't let it get to your head, flameboy. It just so happens that I could use a team if I want to win this tournament. So you better not let me down. Also… I want a rematch. I would have kicked your ass if it wasn't for that Galleom."

Ike half-drew his sword, "You wanna bet?"

Pit stepped between them, "Enough. You can fight later, plenty of that going on at the tournament."

Marth returned his sword to its sheathe, "Hmph. I suppose he has a point there." His eyes gleamed, "I'll see you at the tournament." He turned with a swish of his cape and sauntered away.

Ike grinned, "This is gonna be good."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Bowser stomped through the hallway and reached a room. Three of the room's walls were covered in screens, depicted various footage of the battle between the many tournament fighters and the Galleom. In the middle, sat a figure, hidden by the shadows of the room.

Bowser snorted, "It is done, milord."

The figure raised his hand, "Very good. Now, leave."

Bowser grunted, "Yes, milord." He stomped out of the room, and the doors slid shut behind him.

Ganondorf watched the screens before him as a slow smile spread across his face. His hand curled into a fist. "Yes… The world of Brawl will be mine!!"

**Yayayayaya, the finish of the first chapter of my first Brawl story… Now that you've reached the end, go click that blue button down their, type a nice, little review, and make me happy!! XD No, really… Comment, please. I'm dying to know what you guys think…**

**Honou: You're not really dying, though…**

**Me: It's a figure of speech, dummy.**

**Honou: Oh, wow, I'm so hurt. She called me a dummy. Wahhh.**

**Me: Gosh, why are you always so negative?**

**Honou: I'm NOT always negative. Just pointing things out.**

**Me: … Whatever…**

**Review pl0x!! XD**


	2. Preliminaries

Chapter 2

**Oh, geez, I also forgot to mention that… No, this is not a yaoi… Sorry, fans, I know… I know… How could I, Ms. Naruto-Yaoi-Fangirl, not write yaoi? Well, its very simple, seeing as this story probably won't have any pairings at all… I think… Yes, this story is just FULL of surprises…**

**I will probably write a yaoi with Ike, Marth or someone soon… or just something really random… depends on my muses and of course my mood…**

**Anyway, read, review and whatnow, but most of all… ENJOY!!**

**OMIGASH, one more thing. A close friend and writer, HonouxRyuu, more commonly known as Honou in some of my other stories, has also written a Brawl story, although his is more… goofy than mine… It's called The Adventures of Three Swordsmen, and as the title suggests, it's about the three swordsmen, Ike, Marth, and Link. I don't think his has pairings either, but it's still really quite enjoyable!! So if you thought mine was okay, you'll probably like his so go check it out!!**

**Chapter 2: Preliminaries**

Ike bounced around on the clouds of Pit's home, Skyworld, "This place is nice."

Pit fluttered around, "Don't get too cozy. In a week, we're gonna be outta here."

Ike rolled onto his back, "What about registration?"

Pit waved his hand, "Marth already did everything for us. As last year's champion, he has a lot of perks that we don't have."

Ike stretched, "That's great then… I'm just gonna…" The next minute he was fast asleep.

Pit shook his head, "This guy…" He flew up to the top platform and laid down there, staring up into the sky, watching the clouds lazily drift by. He rolled over and glanced down at the sleeping swordsman beneath him.

This guy… Ike. He was powerful, and yet no one had ever heard of him. He could hold his own against Marth, the reigning champion, but he had never participated in a tournament. Of course, a lot of people said that Marth was toying around with him, but Pit wasn't sure… If he was just toying around, there was no reason for him to join their noobish team.

Pit sighed and rolled onto his back; so many questions and no one to give him any straight answers. But he'd get answers, one way or another…

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Marth paced through the hall of his home, or more like castle, thinking about the earlier fight. He closed his eyes as he replayed the battle in his mind; that guy… Ike. He reminded him of Roy, with his flaming sword and laid-back manner. But, he was different too, the way he fought and the way he looked.

Marth clenched his fist as he thought about the red-haired swordsman. They had been best friends since they were little and then he just disappeared. Right after Marth had defeated him at the tournament. He'd always thought, was Roy angry at him? Roy had always been a friendly rival, accepting his losses graciously. So why had he disappeared that night?

Marth stood still and gazed at the hall around him; he and Roy often trained here against each other when they were kids…

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

_I wiped the sweat dripping down the sides of my face, my hair soaked with sweat, plastered to my skin._

_Roy stood opposite me, equally as tired and sweaty as I was. His eyes were still burning with determination though, as he charged in with his wooden sword, "Oriyaaa!!"_

_My arms felt like lead, but I managed to bring them up to block Roy's attack. I stumbled back a few steps, surprised by his sudden burst of energy. I skipped back a few steps and began charging for my Shield Breaker just as Roy began charging for his Flare Blade. Just as we were about to unleash our respective attacks, we both collapsed to the floor, panting heavily, our energy exhausted._

"_Not bad," I managed between breaths._

_Roy laughed, "Yeah. How long was that?"_

"_Don't know. Too tired to care."_

"_Haha. At this rate, I wonder if we can win the tournament."_

_I turned my head to Roy, "We will. Together, we can beat anyone."_

_Roy grinned, "Yeah." But his face grew sober, "But we'll hafta fight each other, won't we?"_

_I reached over and gently punched his shoulder, "That's nothing new to us, silly. Look at what we've been doing the past hour."_

_Roy grinned, "Yeah, I guess…" He sat up, "But Marth… I…"_

_I sat up as, "What?"_

_Roy suddenly looked hesitant, "Nothing. Never mind." He picked up his sword, "How about another round?"_

**5 Years Later**

_My sixteenth birthday. I beamed as my father granted me my own sword, a simple design with an emerald at the pommel and a ruby at the cross guard. With this, the tournament would be as easy as pie._

_I slid the sword into my sheath, marveling at its balance and beauty._

_Roy came over to congratulate me, "Happy birthday." He handed me a package, "And congratulations on your first sword."_

_I accepted the gift, grinning, "Thanks. Now we both can participate in the Brawl Tournament!!" Roy had turned sixteen a month ago and had also received a sword, the Sword of Seals, for his birthday. The name of my sword was Falchion, a heirloom that had been handed down our family for generations._

_Roy rubbed the hilt of his sword, "The registration's tomorrow, at Hyrule Temple. I'm actually feeling kinda nervous."_

_I clapped his shoulder, "Nothing to be nervous about. We'll kick all their asses!!"_

_We entered the tournament, and although we didn't win, our names were known to every fighter in the Brawl universe. We continued through the months, participating in tournaments, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. But whenever we teamed up, no one could stop us. We were undefeatable together, closer than brothers. Until that day…_

**2 More Years Later**

_It was the final match, me vs. Roy. I remembered the look on his face when it was announced that we had to fight each other for the champion title. A countenance of shock and uncertainty._

_But I still cheerily slung my arm around his shoulder, "Isn't this great? We're in the finals!!"_

"_Yeah," Roy replied without much enthusiasm, "Great."_

_I looked at him, concerned, "You alright?"_

_Roy nodded and smiled, "Yeah, fine. Just tired. The battle with the Mario Bros. was tiring."_

_I grinned, "Amazing how a pair of plumbers could give a run for our money."_

_Roy laughed, "Yeah." He stretched, "I'm headed off to my room. See ya tomorrow."_

_The next day we fought a ferocious battle; we knew how each other fought, seeing as we've been friends for years. I lunged in with a Dancing Blade, but Roy beat me with his dash attack. He'd always been faster than me when it came to speed._

_I recovered from the attack and leapt up to the air to attack with an aerial, but Roy managed to catch me off guard with his Blazer. I fell to the ground, clothes slightly singed, as Roy landed nimbly behind me. He charged up for a Flare Blade as I charged for my Shield Breaker. _

_I grinned at him; it all depended on power now. If I could pierce through his Flare Blade the match would be mine. But Roy's Flare Blade was the more powerful of the two, so I would have to find someway to make it work._

_We brought down our swords, and I was ready to slid my sword along the edge of Roy's sword to give me the friction I needed, but then he canceled his Flare Blade, just as it exploded, covering us in a cloud of smoke, but not nearly strong enough to damage me._

_I felt my blade connect with him and he was sent flying across the stage. The crowd erupted into a cheer as the commentator announced me winner. Caught up in the moment, I cheered alongside them, but I wondered… Roy let me win… But why? I didn't understand it… Why would he let me win?_

_That night he disappeared before I had a chance to talk to him. Vanished into thin air… And I never saw him again…_

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Ike stared up at the ghostly mansion, "Pretty creepy."

Luigi's Mansion was a two story building, not including the attic and basement, with several rooms haunted by ghosts, little critters called Boos.

Pit shivered, "Gives me a bad feeling. It's like its staring down at us." It was true; the door and the lit windows above it gave one the feeling that the house was alive in its own way, watching you.

Marth snorted, "It's not that bad."

A R.O.B. whirred over to them, "Greetings, participants. You may enter as soon as you're ready."

Pit glanced around, "Where's everyone else?"

Marth shrugged, "Either late or ahead. I don't really care. Are we going or not?"

Ike was already at the door, "Come on, guys!! Watcha waiting for?"

Marth sighed and ran after him. Pit shivered again, but slapped his cheeks, "Okay, you can do this." He flew after them, "Wait, guys!!"

The inside of the mansion was just as creepy as the outside. It was all dimly lit by wax candles, creating shadows that seemed to creep alongside them.

"So we just hafta get through this place?" Ike asked.

"Apparently," Marth replied, "I doubt its that easy though."

Pit crept behind them, "Umm, guys… Can we hurry? I really don't like this place."

Ike ruffled his hair, "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're scared of ghosts?"

Pit glared up at him, annoyed, "No, but…" He glanced around, "It's just creepy. I get this feeling something's watching us."

Ike shrugged, "Well, seeing as it's a haunted mansion, I'm not surprised."

Pit rolled his eyes, "You know what? You really suck at reassuring people."

Marth tensed up, "Something's coming."

The hallway was rumbling slightly, growing stronger as whatever it was came closer. Marth and Ike drew their swords as Pit lift up his bow, hands trembling.

A huge Boo with a crown atop his head, charged in, cackling maliciously.

Pit squeaked and fainted, falling to the floor with a thump. Ike shook him, "Hey, you alright?"

Marth lunged in, "Forget him. He'll wake up eventually." He sliced at the giant King Boo, only to find that his sword just went right through it, "Shit!!"

King Boo's green eyes lit up malevolently as it stuck out its green tongue in a raspberry.

Marth look disgusted, "How repugnant."

Ike leapt up, "I'll try!!" He sliced down in a forward aerial, but found the same result as Marth.

Marth returned his sword to its sheath, "Physical attacks won't work against it. It's a ghost after all."

Ike slung his sword over his shoulder, "So what can we do?"

Marth glanced back, "You'll hafta wake the kid. I'll distract Boo." He lunged back to attack the ghost as Ike slapped Pit's cheeks, "Come on, Pit. Wakey, wakey…"

Pit groaned as he returned to consciousness, eyes still groggy, "Dad?"

Ike grinned, "Sorry, wrong person."

Pit rubbed his eyes, "Ike? Did you guys beat the ghost already?"

Marth came crashing over, blasted by a huge roar from King Boo.

"I'll take that as a no…"

Ike scratched his head, "Well, you're the only one who can beat him. Marth and I can't hit him."

Pit shakily stood up as he watched the giant ghost, "You guys couldn't do anything?"

"Well, it is a ghost," Marth said as he struggled to get back up, "And all we have are swords. You can use your arrow to get rid of it, since it's a holy, magical attack."

Pit lifted up his bow and gulped, "Here I go…" A shining blue arrow appearing in his hands, and he aimed for the King Boo. His knees were shaking so bad, he wasn't sure how their were able to support him. His hand, trembling erratically, was barely able to hold onto the bow. He breathed in shakily, _Palutena… Give me strength…_

Pit released the arrow, and it ripped through the King Boo. It wailed miserably as it disintegrated into nothing, causing the mansion to shake crazily. Little Boos swarmed around them, startled by the sudden earthquake, and panicked around Ike, Marth, and Pit.

Ike grabbed hold of the other two, "Come on!! The exit's not too far off!!"

They struggled through the swarm of Boos, but the flow was too strong for them to handle.

"It's like trying to fight against an avalanche," Marth grunted.

"Keep trying," Ike shouted back, trying to keep a hold on Pit, who had fallen unconscious again at the sight of the hoard of Boos. But Ike could feel them being pushed back, down the stairs into the basement.

The three tumbled down as the Boos scattered, hiding in their little nooks and crannies.

Ike stood up and glanced around, "Well, what do you propose we should do now?"

Marth stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes, "Obviously, get back through that door and head for the exit."

Ike pushed against the door, "It's not budging." He tried slicing it with its sword, but to no avail, "This is one hell of a door…"

Marth sighed, "I guess we'll hafta find the key." He glanced around, "It should be here somewhere…"

Ike pulled the unconscious Pit onto his back, "Well, he's out of commission so I don't suggest we go picking a fight with ghosts anytime soon."

Marth nodded and quickly crept through the basement, which was cluttered with various boxes and old furniture. Off to the side was a desk with two chests atop it. Marth examined the chests, "The key might be in here."

Ike shifted Pit's weight to his other shoulder, "Open it."

Marth flipped open the lids of both chests. One held a brass key, while the other held a small, slumbering Boo. The Boo stirred as the light hit its shut eyes, yawning as it uncurled its translucent body. It floated out of the box, and Marth noticed the crown on its head. "Uh oh."

The Boo immediately began growing in size as it roared, revealing its green tongue and glowing green eyes.

Marth quickly grabbed the key and ran for the door, "Time to get out of here."

Ike followed, slightly lagging behind because of Pit's weight, "Hurry, hurry, its coming after us."

The King Boo licked its lips as it spotted its prey and immediately glided after them.

Marth fumbled to get the key into the lock and swung the door open. Ike stumbled in, Marth at his heels who quickly slammed the door shut.

Ike sighed, relieved, "Well, that wasn't too bad."

Marth stared at the door, "Uh, I think we should keep running."

Ike glanced up, "Why?" He needed no reason from Marth because he saw the King Boo, half of his body sticking out the door. It grinned, revealing rows of very sharp teeth, which glinted dangerously in the candle light.

Marth sped down the hall, and Ike quickly followed as he tried to wake up his unconscious comrade, "Pit, I think you should get up now. We really could use some help?"

Pit stirred, "Huh? What?" He made the mistake of turning around and screamed when he saw the King Boo, "HOLY SHIT!!" He fainted again, foaming at the mouth.

Marth waved impatiently, "He's not gonna be able to help us. Come on, we're almost at the exit!!"

The exit door was right in front of them, only a few meters away. Unfortunately, the King Boo was also only a few meters from them.

Marth was at the double door and Ike almost managed to burst through, but then he felt Pit snatched from his back. He whirled around and saw the King Boo sinking into the floor, Pit clenched in its stubby arms. It smirked evilly as it waved goodbye to the two swordsmen.

Ike lunged at the ghost, "No!!" But he just flew right through it and crashed into the ground. He slammed the ground as the King Boo disappeared, "Dammit!!"

Marth grabbed Ike's shoulder, "Come on. Let's get outta here."

Ike stared at him in disbelief, "Are you saying we should just leave Pit here?"

Marth sighed, "He'll be returned to our team as soon as we finish the prelims. And the door it right in front of our faces. He'll be back with us as soon as we're out that door."

Ike glared at him, "So you're saying we should leave him with the ghosts? He's terrified of them. Do you want to force him to go through more than he has to?"

Marth glared right back, "What is he, your kid?" Stop acting like a mom, and let him deal with his own fears. If he ever wants to toughen up, he's gotta face his demons like a man."

Ike turned on his heel, "Screw that. I'm going after him."

Marth grabbed his arm, "No, you're not."

Ike wrenched his arm from his grasp, "Yes, I am." He stormed down the hall, back to the basement. The King Boo sank down the floor, so he must be somewhere around here…

Ike searched farther back and noticed a large cage. Inside was Pit, finally conscious, and another boy who vaguely resembled Link, except more… toony. Guarding the cage were several Boos, but the King Boo was nowhere to be seen.

Ike crept closer, wondering what the best way to free Pit was.

"Well, a distraction would work."

Ike swirled around and found Marth crouching behind him, "Marth!! You came!!"

Marth snorted, "Yeah, well I couldn't just leave you. You'd mess up the whole thing. Now, I'll distract them while you free Pit. Make sure its fast."

Ike nodded, and Marth jumped out into open view, "Come and get me you stupid ghosts!!"

The Boos shrieked and cackled as they chased after Marth. After Ike was sure they were out of his view he dashed up to the cage and wrenched the door open, "Pit!!"

Pit looked up, face brightening when he saw his comrade, "Ike!! You came!!"

Ike grinned, "Well, of course. I couldn't just leave you here."

Pit herded over Toon Link, "We can bring him along too, can't we?"

Ike nodded, "Well, we can't just leave him here…" He glanced around to make sure the coast was clear, "Come on. Let's get outta this freaky mansion."

They reached the door when they heard a terrible roar from behind them. Ike turned back, already knowing what it was. The first thing he was Marth, waving at them to keep running. The next thing he saw was the King Boo, teeth snapping at Marth's heels.

Ike pushed the two kids through the door, "Run!! To the exit!!"

The sprint down the hall felt like the longest in Ike's life. He kept glancing back to check on Marth, who was barely keeping the King Boo off his back. But finally, the exit came into view, only a few meters away. He grabbed the two kids and threw them at the door as hard as he could. They went crashing through the double doors, revealing the clear night sky and open, safe land.

Ike felt Marth pushing his back, "Keep going!!" They tumbled across the door as they slammed shut. They rattled heavily as the King Boo collided into them, making the entire side of the house shake erratically.

Ike collapsed on the ground, "Wow. I never want to do that again."

"And, nooow, our judges have their final result!!"

Ike sat up, "What?!"

Pit helped him up, "The preliminaries are judged by a point system, depending on how well we do. We have to get over 80 points out of 100 in order to get to the next round."

Marth was standing behind them quietly, "We probably won't pass…"

Ike grinned, "Don't be so negative."

Pit shook his head sadly, "No. You guys should have gone ahead. Because of me, you wasted precious time. Time is a crucial factor in the judging."

The judges, the Ice Climbers, cleared their throats, "We're about to give the scoring now."

Popo spoke first, "You all work very well together as a team, although there were times where you could not compromise. However, you worked well together, and it is clear that you care for each other. Therefore, you earn the 17 points out of 20."

Nana continued, "The next part is based on your judgment. Marth clearly thought through every problem that came your way. You were able to understand how to work things out and strategize the best way to utilize your teammates' abilities. You were able to choose the best decisions when your teammates could not." She glanced at Ike, directing the last statement toward him, "But because of your teammates' naiveté, you lost valuable time. Therefore, you receive 15 points out of 20."

Popo followed, "Now, your fighting skills. Each of you used your skills to the best of your ability. Even handicapped, you managed to defeat the first King Boo and escape the second. You earn the full 30 points."

"In terms of time, fifteen minutes were allotted for all teams. Your team, however, took nineteen minutes and 23 seconds to get through the exit. Therefore, your score, out of 30 points, is zero."

"Your point total comes to be 62," Popo and Nana said in unison, "Which falls short of the required 80. Therefore, you cannot proceed to the next round."

Pit sighed, "Oh well. Maybe next year."

"However," Nana continued, "We have decided because of Ike's bravery and acceptance, you will be awarded an extra 20 points. Congratulations." The two Ice Climbers stood up and applauded, "You pass!!"

Pit stared openmouthed at the news, unable to believe what he just heard, "That means…"

Ike grabbed his shoulders, "Yup!! That means we made it!!"

"Hmph. Seems your stupidity did have its uses."

Ike slung his arm around Marth, "Come on, no need to be so grumpy!! Let's go out and celebrate!!"

The three made their way out of the mansion grounds, unaware of tiny, flying camera, in the form of a mechanical bat, following them in the shadows…

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Ganondorf watched as the three left the haunted mansion. He smiled to himself, "Perfect. After all, we can't have the tournament without you… Roy!!"

**END CHAPTER**

**Ah, yes, the cruelty of it all… I know, I know… I bet you're all thinking, "OMIGASH, who's Roy!?"**

**Honou: It's so obvious, stupid. Who else could it be besides-**

**Me: Don't say anything!! Enough with the spoilers!!"**

**Honou: But obviously its-**

**Me: Honou…**

**Honou: Ah, fine, fine I'll just shut up. Oh and, be sure to come, and read my story people, it's ten times better than hers.**

**Me: You're so mean!!**

**Honou: Lawl, just kidding, no, its not ten times better than hers but it's still pretty decent, so check it out!!**

**Me: Yeah, don't forget to check his story out!! And also, leave a nice little review, too… As a tip… XD**


	3. The Great Maze

Chapter 3

**Another chapter!! Let us all celebrate this joyous moment…**

**Honou: It would be more joyous if you updated your other stories…**

**Me: But this one's so much more fun…**

**Honou: It's dramatic and shit…**

**Me: Which makes it fun!!**

**Honou: Whatever…**

**So read and review!! Hope you enjoy!!**

**Chapter 3: The Great Maze**

The trio decided to spend their victory at a nearby restaurant in Delfino Plaza. Well, actually, it was more like Ike and Pit decided to celebrate and so dragged an extremely reluctant Marth along.

Ike raised his mug of beer in cheers, "Kampai!!"

Pit followed suit, except he had a glass of fruit juice, "Cheers."

Marth just brooded in his corner, still sulking about Ike dragging him to the pub.

Ike slung his arm around Marth, cheeks tinged with red from his slight inebriation (meaning he's drunk). "Heeey, buddyyyy…" His words were slurred almost beyond recognition, "You need to chillaaaax, maaan."

Marth tried to shrug Ike off of him, but the swordsman proved too heavy to move, "Enough of this. Snap out of it."

Ike just stared dreamily at Marth, "You're so cute when you're angry." He leaned in and pressed his lips against Marth's.

Marth nearly choked at the smell of alcohol, but also at Ike's sudden show of affection. His first reflex was to curl his hand into a fist and punch Ike across the face, hard enough to send him sprawling on the floor. He breathed heavily as he cracked his knuckles, "I'm gonna kill this guy…"

Pit grabbed Marth's arm, "Come on now, Marth, don't overreact. He was just drunk!!"

Marth shook Pit off and grabbed Ike by the collar, "Drunk or not, he's dead!!"

Ike's head lolled around, deep in sleep. A line of drool ran from the corner of his lips down his cheek.

A vein popped in Marth's head, "This idiot…" He dropped Ike, who fell to the floor with a loud thud, "As soon as he wakes up, I'll kill him…" He sat back down, grumbling about alcohol and drunks.

Pit sighed as he settled back into his won seat, glancing at Ike. _The poor guy… He probably won't live to see tomorrow…_

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

The next morning, after Marth had beaten the shit out of Ike, the trio proceeded to a location in the forest, as indicated by a map they received when they passed the preliminaries.

Pit held the map in his hand, "So, I think it says we're supposed to follow this trail and…" He twisted the map around, "Um… This is really confusing…"

Marth sighed and took the map from Pit's hands. "We can't even find the way to the second round," He grumbled as he scanned the map, "Take this trail until you reach the checkpoint. There's a guide will take you to the second round."

Pit was impressed, "Wow, how did you figure that out?"

Marth hit the map with his knuckles, "It's all written on here." He tossed the map back to Pit, who reread it interestedly, "Come on, let's go. I don't want to be late."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

The trio reached the checkpoint, a tall, thick oak tree, one of the tallest in the entire forest.

"You're sure this is the place?" Ike asked, the question directed at Marth.

Marth nodded, "Yeah."

Pit plopped down against the tree "Whew, I'm tired. I wonder who the guide is."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a R.O.B. wheeled towards them, "Greetings, contestants, I am ROB23090. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Ike and Pit gaped at the R.O.B. as Marth replied, "The pleasure is mine. Will you lead us to the next round?"

ROB23090 nodded, "Of course. We're actually already here."

A red, ornate door appeared in front of them, glowing with an inner light. "This is the way to the Great Maze," ROB23090 explained, "You must get through the maze in at least a week in order to pass."

"Sounds simple enough," Ike mused.

Pit shook his head, "The Great Maze is infamous for its monsters and for the maze itself. I heard you could get lost the moment you step in. Not many people make it out alive in one piece…"

ROB23090 nodded, "Pit is correct; the Great Maze is very dangerous, which is why I will guide you through the maze, but you must take care of everything else yourselves."

Marth nodded, "Very well, then. Show us the way."

The R.O.B. wheeled in through the door as the trio followed after a moment's hesitation. They found themselves in an area not too different from the forest they came from; it still had trees, the same fresh air, but the only problem was that they were surrounded by swarms of monsters, Primids of all different kinds.

Ike and Marth drew their respective swords as Pit pulled apart his bow into two daggers. Ike grinned, "Well, at least they bothered to set up a welcome party." He lifted up his sword and sent several of the Primids flying as Marth darted behind him to cover his back.

Pit leapt up into the air to take on any Primids trying to take them from above, swiftly slicing down each one with a swing of his daggers.

After much hacking and slashing, the trio managed to defeat the Primid mob.

Ike hefted his sword onto his shoulder, "Well, that wasn't too bad."

ROB23090 wheeled over to them, "We still have a long way to go. I suggest we hurry if you three want to make it in time."

Marth sheathed his sword, "I agree. I want to finish as fast as possible."

So the trio continued their quest and ran into more Primids as well as Towtows and Spaaks. After defeating this mob of monsters, another red door appeared, and ROB23090 gestured to it, "This door will take us to the first boss."

"What is it?" Pit asked.

ROB23090 shook his head, "I can't tell you that."

Marth swung around his sword, "That's to be expected. This is supposed to challenge us, after all. Come on, let's go!!"

The three barged through the door and found a Petey Piranha standing in front of them, roaring ferociously. He bashed his cages together, both of which held a box, one blue and one red.

Ike darted for the cage that held the red box, "The red one!!"

Marth lunged in equally fast, but instead headed for the blue one, "Stupid. It's obviously the blue one."

Pit turned to the R.O.B., "Which one are we supposed to get?"

ROB23090 shrugged, "It actually doesn't matter. It's just that one has a special bonus and one doesn't."

"And it's obviously blue," Marth yelled at Ike, "B for Bonus."

Ike snorted, "That's what they want you to think. It's red 'cause they're trying to trick you."

"Well, maybe they just want you to think that," Marth retorted, "Besides, blue is always the right color."

"Um, guys…" Pit tried.

"Well, maybe you're thinking into too much," Ike snapped back, "Try to be more simple."

"Guys…"

"Simple-minded? Like you?" Marth retaliated, "I don't think so."

Ike swore, "Seriously, do you hafta be so irritating. I can't stand it."

"Well, you're the one who invited me into your team," Marth growled, "So deal with it."

"If I had known you were going to be so frustrating, I wouldn't have bothered," Ike replied angrily.

"GUYS, COULD YOU PLEASE STOP FIGHTING WITH EACH OTHER?" Pit shouted.

Ike and Marth stopped and stared at Pit, who pointed at Petey Piranha, "Look, even he's asleep."

Which was true… Petey Piranha was sitting down a sleep bubble emerging from the tip of his nose (Nose? What nose?).

Marth grunted, "Well, I guess we can argue about this later."

Ike nodded and lunged in and slashed at the sleep bubble, "Time to wake up, Petey."

The sleep bubble popped and Petey woke, roaring in rage. He slammed the cage at Ike, who nimbly jumped away.

Marth also lunged in with his Shield Breaker, hitting Petey square in the face. Petey roared angrily and thrashed about, swinging his cages all around.

Ike grinned, "I hope you kept Falchion in good condition."

Marth just grunted and swiftly lunged in with his Dancing Blade. Petey attacked back by slammed his cage down, but Marth easily jumped aside as Ike lunged in with, "AETHER!!"

Petey shrieked in pain as it fell to the ground, defeated. Ike landed next to Marth, "So, which one shall we pick?"

Marth turned to Pit, "Why don't we let him decided?"

Pit shrugged, "I dunno, I guess red."

Ike grinned and picked out the red one from its cage as the blue one vanished. He opened in and found a key. He tossed it to Marth, "What do you think?"

Marth examined, "We probably need it to get out at the end or something like that. I'll hold onto it."

Ike checked the box again, "Looks like we didn't get that bonus."

ROB23090 beeped, "No, you did. Look." He pointed to a door that had materialized off to the side, "It's a rest area. No monsters will be able to attack you while in there. But you only get to use it once. Get a few hours of rest and we can get on our way."

Pit grinned, "Cool!!" He flew inside as the others followed behind him. The rest area was simple but cozy enough. A warm, crackling fire rested in its hearth, three cots close by.

Pit leapt atop his bed, "Great! We don't hafta sleep on the floor."

Marth sat by the fire as did Ike. Ike sighed contentedly, "Nothing like a good fire among friends, huh?"

Marth was silent, his eyes never straying from the fire. When he spoke up, his voice was low, almost a whisper, "You called this blade Falchion, right?"

Ike cocked his head, "That's its name, isn't it?"

Marth nodded, "Yes, but what's odd is that you know the name. There only two people, other than me, who know it. One was my father, who died shortly after giving me this sword. The other… He's been gone for some time. So I will ask you, how do you know this sword?"

Ike didn't respond for a minute and then chuckled, "I knew I couldn't keep it from you."

Marth grabbed his shoulders, "You really are Roy!!"

Ike pressed his index finger to his lips and gestured to Pit, who was fast asleep, and R.O.B. who seemed to be in a sleep mode. But he nodded, "Yeah."

"I knew it," Marth breathed, "When I saw you fight, I thought… It seemed familiar but different. You look different, too… I didn't recognize you."

Ike gave a small smile, "I had to."

"Why though?" Marth hissed, "Why did you hide from me for so long? Was it because of that day? Three years ago? Don't think I didn't notice… I saw you; you _let_ me win. Why?"

Ike stared at the fire, "I've got my reasons."

"Tell me," Marth demanded.

"I can't," Ike said quietly, "It's not something you need to know."

Marth's eyes were hurt, "I'm your friend. Of course it's something I need to know."

Ike closed his eyes, "No. You were Roy's friend. I'm someone totally different."

Marth grabbed his collar, "Bastard."

Ike turned his head to the side, "Let's not talk about this again. I'd rather not."

"Like hell I'm gonna do that," Marth snarled, "I don't owe you anything."

Ike pleaded with his eyes, "I don't want anyone to know who I really am. Not even Pit. I don't want to drag anyone into this."

Marth released him, "Fine. Then we agree this conversation never happened?"

Ike nodded relieved, "Thank you."

"It's not for your sake," Marth replied coldly and stalked to his cot.

"I know," Ike said softly, "But still… Thanks."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

The trio was woken by the R.O.B., who reminded them that they were on a tight schedule. They quickly ate breakfast and continued on their way through the maze as the rest area disappeared.

Pit stretched, "That was nice. I hope we can get another one."

They stopped by a lake to wash up, and ROB23090 glanced around, "Hmmm…"

Marth looked up, "Is there something wrong?"

ROB23090 shrugged, "No, I don't think so. It's just the ground looks rather scorched."

The trio took a look and noticed that the ground had been razed by some kind of mighty energy beam. Ike raised an eyebrow, "Maybe we should get outta here quick."

Marth nodded in agreement, "Whatever was here isn't too far away."

"Guys," Pit said shakily, "I think it's too late for that."

The lake surface bubbled violently as Rayquaza erupted from the water, roaring fiercely. It swiped its tail (Iron Tail), and the trio leapt above the deadly attack, ready to counter. Pit flew up higher and aimed his arrows at Rayquaza's face, distracting the Legendary creature as Marth and Ike lunged in with Dancing Blade and Quick Draw. They hit the Dragon Pokemon in its chest, and it flinched at their attack.

Rayquaza roared angrily and readied Energy Ball in its mouth. It fired at the two swordsmen, who, not expecting the attack, were sent flying into the trees. Then it glared up at Pit and Roared, sending the light kid tumbling through the air.

Ike struggled out of the trees, "Ouch. That hurt."

Marth winced, "That's an understatement."

They managed to pull themselves out as Rayquaza circled in the air, electricity crackling around it. It bellowed as it released a Thunder on the two swordsmen, who barely managed to dodge off to the side.

"Distract him," Marth muttered to Ike.

Ike nodded, "You got it." He charged at Rayquaza and leapt up as he charged for Eruption. He released the flaming blast as he landed on the Dragon Pokemon.

Rayquaza shrieked in pain and thrashed about, trying to throw Ike off of it. It was so focused on Ike, it didn't notice Marth thrust in his sword with Critical Hit, dashing in at blinding speed. Marth sliced through the Rayquaza, which fell back into the water, screaming in defeat.

The trio gathered at the shore, battered and bruised, and Pit sighed, "Well, we've had an exciting start today."

ROB23090 wheeled over, "I found some ruins in the forest. We can rest there for a bit, if you'd like."

Ike nodded, "Rest would be great."

Marth crossed his arms, "We're on a time limit here. We can't keep resting whenever we feel like."

Ike slung his sword over his shoulder, "Well, we can't keep going forever, we'll get tired out too easily."

Marth snorted, "I'm not tired in the least." He spun on his heel, "You can rest, but I'm going ahead."

Ike did not reply and instead wordlessly followed Pit and ROB23090, who had already gone ahead to the ruins.

Pit eyed Ike curiously, "Marth's not with you?"

Ike shook his head, "He decided to go ahead."

Pit was alarmed, "That's dangerous!! We should stick together."

Ike grunted, "It's his choice. Let him learn from his mistakes."

Pit cocked his head, "Did something happen between you guys?"

Ike raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Pit shrugged, "It suddenly seemed kinda cold between you two."

Ike patted Pit's head, "Nothing's going on. He's just getting on my nerves, that's all."

Pit smiled, "That's good." Then he grew serious, "But we really should go after him. It's not very safe."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the forest.

Pit stared at Ike in horror, "That sounded like…"

"Marth," Ike finished, "We'd better hurry."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Marth gritted his teeth as he eyed the monsters surrounding him. He vaguely remembered reading about them in a book, but their names were rather foggy… Or perhaps it was all the blood he had lost from their bladed appendages. Shaydas!! That's what they were…

The Shaydas (plural, I don't now how to spell that out, Shaydases? Shaydi? Bleah…) lunged in. Marth tried to dodge them all, but one managed to slice its blade through Marth stomach. He couldn't help but scream in agony, and he quickly backed off, clutching at his wound. He winced at the pain; these creatures were merciless.

Marth gripped his sword tightly; but he would not lose to them. Losing to them would be proving that Ike was right… And that was the last thing he wanted. He lunged at the Shaydas with Dancing Blade, ignoring the pain searing up his abdomen. He sliced through the first couple, but faltered in the middle.

The Shaydas quickly surrounded him, throbbing together with malicious glee. Marth closed his eyes has he rested against his sword, his reliable Falchion, which was thrust in the ground, was this how he would die? A pathetic, miserable death?

"Marth!!"

Marth quietly smiled to himself; he could hear Roy's voice calling to him… He must be getting close to heaven. His eyes snapped open; no, Roy wasn't dead as he had originally thought… The fog cleared from his mind; Roy… He looked up and saw Ike standing there, a cocky smirk on his face.

"What the hell are you doing, Marth? Giving up already?"

Marth snorted as he straightened, "Of course not. I was merely taking a break."

Ike grinned, "Whatever." He darted in with a Quick Draw, slashing through several Shaydas as Marth threw another bunch into the air with his Dolphin Slash. Ike flung his sword to catch the Shaydas and slammed them down, "Aether!!" The Shaydas screamed as they slowly dissipated into dark spores that sank into the ground.

Marth sheathed his sword, "I could have taken care of it."

"Yeah, right." Ike examined Marth's wound, "Looks pretty bad."

Marth placed his hand over it, "It's not as bad as it looks."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure." Ike helped Marth stand up, "Come on. We should get that cleaned up."

Pit burst through the trees, ROB23090 not far behind him, "Is he okay?"

Ike nodded, "He's alive, at least."

Pt sighed with relief, "That's good." Then he noticed the wound, "Ouch. That looks like it hurts." He pulled out a bottle of water and a small jar, "It's a healing salve. Rub it around the cut and it should heal faster."

Ike took the bottle and jar, "You might wanna take off your shirt."

Marth sighed and pulled off his cape, belt, and shirt, revealing the extent of the injury. The cut spread above his abdomen, missing his vital organs, but still deadly. Luckily, it hadn't pierced through him, which made it easier to treat. Ike gently washed the wound and applied the gooey, white salve around the lesion. Marth winced, but bit his lip to keep himself from crying out.

Ike screwed the cap back on, "There. All done."

Marth redressed and fingered the hole in his shirt, "This is going to bother me…"

"You can get it fixed once you reach the exit," ROB23090 said.

"Then let's hurry and get outta here. I don't want to deal with this any longer than necessary."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

They made good use of the time they had, and managed to get out of the forest into the wilds. They decided to rest for the night at a lone fortress, safely inside its walls.

"We should be safe enough here," ROB23090 stated during dinner, "But I suggest we set up a watch. I will go first."

The other three agreed and decided on the order they would go in. After R.O.B. would be Ike, then Marth, and then Pit. They would watch for two hours and then shift to the next person.

The trio settled in as ROB23090 wheeled around, alert for any intruders. Pit was asleep almost immediately, and Ike smiled wistfully, "I wish I could get to sleep that fast."

Marth grunted, "He's just a kid, after all."

"Yeah. He's lucky."

Silence ensued between them as they just stared up at the stars. "You know," Marth said quietly, "I'll forgive you. But… Promise me you'll tell me everything when it's over."

"I don't think its something you'd want to know," Ike replied.

"That's what you keep saying," Marth countered, "But I do want to know."

Ike just smiled wanly, "That's because you don't know. And it would be better that way. But fine, I promise to tell you everything once it's done."

"You'd better."

Ike smiled at that and stared up into the night sky, reassured that everything would be alright.

**Me: Well, that should clear up a few things XD And bring up a few others… Hohoho…**

**Honou: Hey, how come Pit gets so little action time? This whole thing is about Marth and Ike…**

**Me: Well, yeah, it is all about them. Pit's just there 'cause he's cute.**

**Honou: …Wow… **

**Me: Don't worry, Pit will have more parts later on… I'm just too lazy to include him in some of the fights, but I'll try more next time!!**

**Honou: Meaning she won't try at all…**

**Me: …Anyway, I know all you people are reading this… So review!!**


	4. Escape

Chapter 4:

**Ugh, I feel like the battle was a tad bit rushed… I just wanted them to get outta there… Sheesh… But still, I suppose more effort should've been put in…**

**Honou: Seriously.**

**Me: You're not helping…**

**Honou: Fine. It wasn't that bad.**

**Me: Thank you.**

**Read and enjoy!! It's kinda a short chapter compared to the last one, but bear with me…**

**Chapter 4: Escape**

After some long-needed rest, our heroes left the fortress and continued through the maze, but there was still no exit in sight.

"I wonder if we'll get out in time," Pit said anxiously.

Ike ruffled Pit's brown hair, "We'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say," Pit grumbled, "Ignorance is bliss."

"I'm agreeing with Pit on this one," Marth said, "We shouldn't get too cocky."

Ike yawned, "You guys are way too negative."

ROB23090 whirred excitedly, "We have reached the cave!!"

"Cave?" Pit asked curiously.

ROB23090 nodded, "As soon as we get through, we will have made it through the halfway point. If we're lucky, it should only take us a few hours to get through."

"We haven't been very lucky so far," Marth said dryly.

"That's true," Pit said glumly.

Ike grinned, "It'll be fine." He ran for the entrance, "Let's get going!! I wanna get outta here as fast as possible."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

The R.O.B. led them through the cave, continually reminding them to stay close. "It gets quite confusing in here," he told them, "So be cautious if you don't want to be left behind."

The party continued through the maze, only occasionally running into monsters like Bucculus and Primids. After about an hour of walking, they reached a circular hallway that towered high up, so high that the ceiling wasn't even visible.

Pit stared up, "Wow. This thing goes way up!!"

ROB23090 gestured to an opening on the other side of the hall, "That should lead us to the exit. We've been very lucky. There have been some rumors of a Rid-"

He was suddenly interrupted by a loud screech from above, and the trio stared up, wondering what made such a horrible noise. It slowly descended out of the shadows, revealing its scaly body, wings, and claws. It stared down at them with its oddly intelligent eyes, a seemingly contrasting aspect when compared to its beastly body. It licked its sharp teeth in anticipation of new prey.

Pit tightened his grip on his daggers, "Ridley."

Ike looked at him questioningly, "What's a Ridley?"

Pit stared in disbelief, "You don't know who Ridley is? Wow… He's notorious for being one of the most dangerous creature in the Brawl Universe!! That fact that he's prodigiously strong and clever has helped it defeat and devour many powerful fighters!!"

Ike nodded slowly, his face in an Oh-I-see expression, "Well, shouldn't we be running?"

"Too late for that," Marth said grimly.

The Ridley swooped down, claws outstretched as it reached for Marth, ugly, yellow eyes gleaming with gleeful anticipation. Marth, reflexes slowed by his wound, was wrenched up to the sky in the grasp of Ridley's claws, sword lost far below.

"Shit," he cursed as he struggled to get out of Ridley's grip, "That was stupid."

Ike stared up, eyes widened with fear, "Dammit!!" He threw up his sword, but as he leapt up to catch it, Ridley ascended higher, and Ike hit nothing but empty air. He landed hard, crushing the stone floor beneath him into rubble, but he only had eyes on Marth, "Pit…"

Pit nodded, "Right." He launched himself into the sky and landed atop Ridley's head. He lifted his daggers to pierce Ridley's eye, but Ridley was far to smart for that. He jerked to the side, and Pit tipped over to the side and fell off. He quickly caught himself and swooped down to Marth.

"Pit!!" Marth shouted, "He's too strong!! You need to-"

Pit didn't hear the rest of his sentence; he just felt something hard and scaly strike into his abdomen. Darkness danced around the corners of his eyes and he had this vague sensation of falling. He looked up, and the last thing he saw was Ridley, an evil smile spread over its ugly face.

Ike worriedly stared up into the darkness. He couldn't see anything; they were too high up. But then he noticed a white figure, falling. He lunged up and caught the rapidly descending Pit and landed nimbly on the ground, "Pit? Pit?"

The brunette made no response, still submerged under deep sleep. Ike wanted to scream; he had never felt so useless before. He couldn't save his friends, not even when they were right in front of them. Just like he couldn't save them before… He paced around, thinking for the best way to get Marth, if there was any possible way…

But then he heard the Ridley screech, but this time it was not in triumph. That hair-raising scream sounded of one in pain. He saw the scaly dragon-like creature falling, three figures standing atop its, apparently, dead head. It crashed into the floor, and a flurry of dust and debris rose up, but Ike jumped right into the storm, "Marth!!"

"He's fine," a female voice shouted, "Over here."

Ike followed the voice and found the three Hylians kneeling next to an unconscious Marth. Ike bowed his head gratefully, "Thanks so much."

Zelda smiled, "We kinda owed you, anyway. You saved Toon Link from the ghosts."

Ike remembered the little Link, but had totally forgotten about him in the chaos of the judging, "Well, I'm glad you found your way home."

Toon Link smiled, "Yeah. How's Pit?"

Ike gently set Pit down, "I think he'll be okay. He just knocked a bit too hard." His fist clenched involuntarily as he remembered his failure to protect the brown-haired angel.

Link touched Zelda's shoulder, "Zelda…"

Zelda nodded, "Yeah." She turned to Ike, "We have to get going now. Hopefully we'll see you guys at the end."

Ike bowed his head again, "Your help was greatly appreciated."

Zelda smiled, "As was yours." She waved as the Hylian trio left through the exit door, "Ta."

Ike looked down at his two unconscious teammates, "Please be okay…"

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Marth groaned as his vision began to return to him, and winced at the pain. His head felt like it was splitting open. Although he would expect that when a flying lizard swooped you up and bashed you into a stone wall. He tried to sit up, but someone pushed him back down, saying, "Whoa, whoa, hold up, buddy. You're not quite 100 percent yet."

It took a minute before the words made it through the fogginess of Marth's bleary mind, "Ike?"

"Yeah, it's me. Good thing you remember. I don't want to have to deal with an amnesiac."

Marth was still trying to get his brain to function properly and slowly took in these words, "Yeah…" He suddenly remembered the flying boy, "Is Pit…?"

"I'm fine," A cheery voice chirped, "I practically vomited my intestines though."

Marth tried hard not to imagine that literally or even figuratively and instead focused on trying to get this haze lifted from his mind, "Is there any water?"

The rim of a plastic bottle was pressed to his lips, "Here." Marth gulped down the water greedily, and the haze slowly dissipated. He blearily looked around, "Where are we?"

"Still in the hall," ROB23090 informed him, "We decided to make camp here. You were out for a while."

Marth rubbed his eyes, "How long was I out?"

The other three exchanged glances and Pit said quietly, "Three days. Your wounds were pretty bad."

Marth sat up quickly, wincing at the pain his sudden action caused. But he overcame that, "What?!" He stood up shakily, "We've got to get out of here… We need to get to the exit."

Pit nodded, "We already packed everything up when you started coming to."

Marth headed for the exit, "Then let's get going." He nearly fell over; the weakness was so bad, but Ike swiftly caught him, "If we're going anywhere, you're gonna need some help."

Marth grudgingly leaned against Ike, "Good thing we're almost out of here."

Pit nodded happily, "We still have two whole days left too."

The four of them made their way out of the ruined hall and found themselves in the middle of a desolate desert, empty except for sand and some tumbleweed.

Pit looked around, "Where's the exit?"

Marth grimaced, "Maybe we aren't as close as we thought we were."

Pit pulled out the key, "Maybe it has something to do with this?"

No sooner had the words come out his mouth when a shimmering red door appeared before them, but this time chained up with a lock.

Pit inserted the key into the lock and twisted it until he heard a click. The lock popped open and fell to the ground along with the chains. Marth straightened up, "Let's go."

They walked through the doorway and found themselves in a large arena, sections of ruins surrounding them. In the center, was a huge, two-sided robot, well equipped with lasers and blades.

"Duon," Marth murmured, "I didn't know they existed…"

Pit stared at the monster before them, "It's HUUUUge!!"

Ike grinned, "Ought to be fun!!" He lunged in with a Quick Draw, sword flashing in the light.

Marth quickly followed, "Idiot."

The blue-side of the Duon slammed down with its bladed appendages as Marth and Ike skipped over to the sides. Pit flew in as the Duon was distracted with the two swordsmen and sliced at the head, "Over here, ya big robot!!"

The Duon spun around, switching to the pink side, and fired its lasers at the swordsmen below, forcing them to retreat further back to the stage. Then it jumped up high, colliding into the small brunette, also pushing him back as it tried to stomp on the swordsmen.

Marth and Ike quickly recovered and rolled away before they were flattened under the Duon's huge mass. Pit landed beside them, breathing heavily, "That was scary."

Marth spun the sword in his hands, "This guy's tough. We're gonna need a strategy."

Ike warily watched the giant robot, "What do you suggest?"

"Pit and I will distract him," Marth said quickly as they dodged another one of the Duon's laser onslaughts, "Ike, you have to hit him with everything you've got once you find an opening."

Ike nodded as Pit and Marth launched into action. As the Duon relaxed from the laser blast, Pit quickly lunged in, rapidly spinning his double daggers, "Ayayayooo!!"

Marth leapt up into the air, slicing across the Duon's chest. The Duon, angered by the angel and swordsman, fired several missiles, each targeted onto either Marth or Pit. As they ran off, the missiles trailing behind them, Ike lunged in, sword aflame. He sliced through the Duon, "GREAT AETHER!!" He proceeded to a series of slashes and kicks until the Duon exploded in flame and collapsed.

Ike landed neatly on his feet, exhausted by the attack. Marth and Pit joined him, and the angel smiled, "Great work, guys."

ROB23090 wheeled over, "Congratulations. You three have made it to the third round."

Ike collapsed to the floor, "Thank God. I thought this would never be over."

Marth sat down to the floor beside him, "Hmph. Perhaps it wasn't a mistake to team up with you two."

Pit smiled as he fluttered around the two, "Of course not. I'm real glad I got to meet you guys."

The three were oblivious to the tiny bat camera watching their every move…

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Ganondorf sneered as he watched the three celebrate, "You won't be celebrating for long... I will get my revenge on you Roy… Marth…"

Bowser stomped into the room, "We made it in, milord. The preparations are complete."

Ganondorf smirked, "Soon, Roy. Soon you will know true despair."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Marth stared up at the bulletin board, which had an actual tournament style listing posted up. Eight teams had made into the third section of the tournament. The listing was as followed:

Round 1: Team Mushroom vs. Team An

Round 2: Team Pokemon vs. Team Pikerth

Round 3: Team Triforce vs. Team Koku

Round 4: Team Bird vs. Team Star

Marth sighed when he saw their team name; Pit and Ike had the idea that their team name should incorporate a syllable from each of their own names and so they were called… Pikerth. It sounded ridiculous, something a child would make up.

Pit bounced over, "So who are we up against?"

Marth turned around, " The Pokemon team. But that's in the second round so we have some free time. Where's Ike?"

Pit glanced back, eyes surprised, "He was right behind me when I last checked."

Marth exhaled heavily; he hoped that fiery swordsman hadn't gotten into trouble…

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Ike struggled through the crowd, trying to find the others. He glanced around, trying to spot that blue hair, but no such luck. He was pushed further back by the wave of the crowd as he yelled, "Pit!!"

A few heads turned towards his direction, but none were the face of the cheerful angel.

Ike pushed against the crowd, frustrated by the fact that even his mighty strength could not get him through. Then he felt someone lean against his back and hiss into his ear, "I've got you now…"

Ike's blood ran cold at the voice, "What are you doing here?"

He laughed, "Just delivering a message. I told you I would find you, didn't I?"

"What do you want?" Ike's voice came out strong, but inside he was shaking. He hoped his knees wouldn't give out.

"Revenge." The voice hissed the word like a caress, "You should've stayed hidden in your hole, Roy. Now I'm going to go after you and your little friends."

The thought of his friends in danger… Ike whirled around, eyes flashing angrily and sword ready to attack but the owner of the voice was nowhere to be found.

"Dammit."

**Ahahahaha… Yeah I can't wait for the tournament to start… But dang, I hafta write all those fight scenes… Or I'll just skip through the boring stuff XD**

**Well, again, I'm sorry for the rushiness, I just wanted you guys to know I'm not dead… Hopefully I can update it in the near future so it won't be so bad…**

**Anyway, please review XD… Even it is only to complain about how rushed it was…**

**-sigh- (You guys don't hafta read this part, it's just me ranting about school…) Bleagh, stupid senior year… DO NOT BELIEVE THOSE LIES ABOUT SENIOR YEAR BEING CHILL, if you want to make it chill, yeah that can work, but if you want to get into a GOOD college, you hafta work your butt off… Right now, I'm trying to look for a job, sign of for a jillion scholarships, and work on my personal statement. Plus I'm running around, trying to find people who can give me some good recs… But it's proving difficult since I'm the person who just sits in the back hiding from the teacher… And of course, I never thought that I would need to get to know my counselor either… Yeah… Plus, I'm not sporty, so I don't have a lot of sports under my belt either… So, basically, all I got are brains and volunteer work… Yay.**

**Okay, enough of me ranting… Ummm, hopefully I'll get something new posted up soon (a new chapter, not story… I need to stay dedicated to these guys…) So yeah…**


	5. Rage

**If I have this all mapped out correctly, it'll be done in about five more chapters… (of course, with me, nothing's set in stone) Yeah, yeah, I know, pretty short, but at least I have a shot at finishing this fic… XD**

**Bleargh, it's November already… Time flies way too fast…**

**Anyway, enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review!!!**

**Chapter 5: Rage**

Pit anxiously waited for his partners, fidgeting nervously at the end of his blue, plastic seat. There were only a few minutes until the match began, and there was still no sign of the two swordsmen.

Pit glanced down the stadium, a simple circular platform covered in a spiked cage. Pit doubted it was as simple as it looked; the Brawl tournaments always made everything as flashy as possible to appeal to new fighters.

Pit took one more glance around him and sighed. When Ike had returned to their room last night, he had looked rather troubled and snapped every time Marth or Pit tried to ask what was wrong.

Marth, of course, was pissed off at Ike for being irritating and so left the hotel. Ike soon followed, and Pit hadn't seen them since.

Pit exhaled heavily; he hoped they weren't in any trouble…

But just as the thought entered his mind, Marth walked over with a more cheerful-looking Ike in tow.

"Sorry we're late," Ike said as he took his seat next to Pit.

"Where were you guys?" Pit asked curiously, relieved that his teammates were unharmed.

Ike and Marth exchanged glances, and Ike said hastily, "Just making up. Sorry for snapping at you the other night."

Pit shrugged, "We all have our days."

The fanfare started playing as the two teams, Team Mushroom and Team An entered the stage.

Pit sat up, eyes glued to the stage, "It's starting!!!"

Mario, Luigi, and Peach were cheerily waving at the crowd as Team An, which consisted of Bowser, Wario, and Wolf roared, cackled, and howled.

"Bowser and Mario faced off last year in the finals," Pit said excitedly, "It was a good match, but Mario owned that big turtle."

Ike nodded; even he knew that Bowser and Mario were the greatest enemies in Brawl.

Marth rubbed his chin, "But they'll have trouble with Peach, won't they? She's a good Brawler, but still on the weak side."

"They probably have something planned…" Pit said knowingly.

Down on the stage, the two teams exchanged taunts.

"You won't win so easily this time, Mario," Bowser roared.

"Humph. Don'ta geta so fulla yourself," Mario retorted in his lilting accent.

"GO!!!!"

Bowser quickly lashed out at the plumber, but Mario proved too quick for the oversized turtle. He nimbly bounced off of Bowser's head and launched himself toward Wolf. Bowser whirled around to attack Mario again, but a vegetable smacked him on the side of his head. The snapped his head to see Peach winking, "Sweet!!!"

Bowser roared and skidded toward her, his claws creating sparks against the stone floor. But Peach was ready, and she slammed into his face with her hip, creating an explosion of hearts.

Bowser reeled back at the Peach Bomber; it hadn't done much damage, but it still distracted him from a certain green plumber running at him…

Luigi quickly took advantage of Peach's attack and slammed his head into the turtle, sending him crashing into the cage's bars.

Bowser glanced back and noticed that the entire arena was floating up into the air, with the spectators as small as ants down below. They seemed to be watching the whole thing on a huge four-sided screen, so that everyone had a clear view of the battle going on.

Bowser snarled; he would not let himself be beaten so easily by a pair of plumbers and a princess in pink.

Wolf glanced at Bowser and nodded. Wario even though busy fighting with Mario, noticed the gesture and grinned, revealing his ugly teeth. A huge cloud of fart exploded from his rear, obscuring the entire arena.

Pit stared at the screen, frowning. All he could see was a bunch of yellow gas. That was no fun. "Stupid Wario."

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Marth murmured.

Pit chewed his lip as he watched the screen, "Hey, it's clearing!!!"

Three figures could be seen, and Pit squinted, "Who won?"

The fart completely cleared away, revealing the three villains standing triumphantly over the Mario heroes. Bowser cackled and roared in victory.

Pit blinked, "No way. The Mushroom guys were winning… How could they lose from a fart?"

The entire crowd seemed to be thinking the same thing. Instead of erupting into cheers, they were all murmuring, discussing the same thing. How did Team Mushroom lose?

"This is fishy," Marth said quietly, "Something happened…"

"AND THE WINNER IS… TEAM AN!!!"

There was no chorus of cheers, but the villainous team was not daunted. They smugly left the stage as is returned to the ground and disappeared into the back rooms.

"THANK YOU FOR COMING, FOLKS!!! NEXT TIME, THE MATCH BETWEEN TEAM POKEMON VS. TEAM PIKERTH!!!"

The crowd cheered, mainly for the Pokemon. The Pokemon team had made it to the finals last year as well, although that time they had Mewtwo on their team. This year, Mewtwo had been replaced with Lucario.

Pit scowled, "We'll show them!!!"

Ike patted Pit's head, "Yeah, but I think we best get some sleep. We're gonna need it for the match tomorrow."

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Ganondorf watched as the trio turned in for the day, and a cruel sneer spread over his face.

Bowser stomped into the room, "It's ready."

Ganondorf nodded and turned back to the screen, "You're going to regret defying me, Roy…" He threw his head back and laughed, eager for his revenge on the swordsman.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Marth toyed with a carved wooden charm of an eagle, a symbol of courage and power. It was a birthday present from Roy for his sixteenth birthday. He furtively took a glance at Ike, who was sleeping on the bed behind him.

Ike.

Roy.

Marth tucked the charm back into his waist pouch and stood up to look over Ike. It was so frustrating; he desperately wanted to know why Roy had left, what changed him, but Ike refused to give him any answers.

Ike stirred, as if sensing Marth's aggravation. He blinked when he saw the teal-haired swordsman, "What's up?"

"I know we agreed not to talk about it, but… I just want to know one thing," Marth said, "That last tournament, why did you just let me win?"

Ike sighed, "I can't tell you that."

Marth crossed his arms, "Why? Maybe I can help."

"You can't," Ike said softly, "It's something I need to take care of on my own." He glanced around the room, "Where's Pit?"

"He went to the vending machine, something about a midnight snack," Marth said impatiently, "Stop changing the subject."

Ike stood up, "How long has he been gone?"

Marth frowned, "I dunno… It seems like he's taking a while…" His frown deepened, "Now that I think about it, he should be back by now."

Ike shot out the door and ran for the vending machines, ignoring Marth's calls. He ran to the vending machines as fast as his legs could carry him and when he arrived, it was deserted. There were signs of a struggle, a dent in the machine, Pit's feathers lying around, and scorch and slash marks everywhere.

"No," Ike whispered as Marth caught up to him.

Marth looked around, inspecting the burns and rents, "There's only two Brawlers who can cause this kind of damage, Bowser and Charizard. Both have the motive, I think, because we'll be facing them soon in the tournament. But I don't think Red is the kind of person to sic his Pokemon on his opponents."

Ike was already walking away as Marth called out, "Where are you going?"

Ike turned his head, eyes filled with murderous intent. Marth had never been one to be intimidated before, but he was glad that Ike's anger was not directed at him.

"I'm gonna kill that over-sized turtle," Ike growled.

Marth caught up to him, "I don't like this. It could be a trap."

"I don't care."

Marth fell silent; he had never seen Roy like this before. Sure he had been protective of those close to him, and sometimes he would go out of his way to help a stranger, but this way totally… different. Roy believed that violence could be used for good, but killing?

Marth stared at Ike; what could have changed him so much? The Roy before him, Ike, was not the Roy he once knew.

The two swordsmen stopped in front of the door to Bowser's room, and Marth knocked. Ike didn't bother and kicked the door down as he pulled out his sword.

Bowser was standing there, ready for an attack.

"Where is he?" Ike snarled, eyes flashing angrily.

Bowser chuckled and sent a blast of flame at the fire swordsman. Ike swung around his sword and sent the blaze aside. He leapt at Bowser and slammed him down to the ground, "I won't ask so nicely again. Where is Pit?"

Bowser glared and threw Ike off with a swipe of his meaty claw. Then he skidded closer and tackled into Ike. Ike quickly recovered with a quick slash of his sword and grabbed the giant turtle. He landed a brutal head-butt on Bowser's nose, "Where is he?"

Bowser tried to wriggle out of Ike's grip, but even with his massive strength, it was useless. Ike narrowed his eyes and stabbed his sword into Bowser's leg. The Koopa howled in agony as Ike hissed into his ear, "Where is he?"

Bowser vehemently shook his head, and Ike pulled out his sword, only to stab in the other leg. Bowser's eyes were screaming with pain, but he managed to keep silent. "I can keep this going all day," Ike said softly, each word laced with venom, "Your choice."

"Ganondorf," Bowser finally said.

"I should've known…" Ike dropped the Koopa onto the ground and lifted his sword up high. The Koopa tried to scramble away as Ike's eyes glinted with malice, "This is for hurting him." He swung down, only to be stopped by another blade, held by Marth.

"Don't get in my way."

Marth shook his head, "You need to stop. We have the information. We don't need to waste anymore time."

Ike's eyes flicked from Marth to Bowser. He retracted his sword, "You got lucky, Koopa. I suggest you never cross my sight again or you'll be sorry." He turned and stalked out of the room.

Marth grabbed his shoulder, "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You know full well what I'm talking about. And what did you mean about Ganondorf? Do you know him?"

"You don't need to know the answer."

"I think I do," Marth pressed, "You've changed, Roy, and I want to know why."

Ike wrenched out of Marth's grip, "Don't call me that anymore!!! I don't… I don't deserve that name."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't have time for this. We need to find Pit."

"After we find him. You have to tell me."

Ike didn't answer and just walked further down the hall, "Ganondorf probably hacked himself into the tournament, so he's probably not in this hotel."

Marth nodded thoughtfully; since this hotel was specially reserved for the participants of the tournament, Ganondorf wouldn't be able to get in without proper ID. But there were several other hotels he could be at; it would take days to search through them all.

The two turned the corner and almost ran into Zelda, who looked as if she had been running down. She quickly bowed her head and mumbled an apology as she made to continue her rush down the hall. But before she took off, Ike grabbed her wrist, "You sense Ganondorf around?"

Zelda's eyes widened, "How did you-?"

"Never mind that. Where is he?"

Zelda bit her lip, "I'm not entire sure of the location, but I know where the general area is. Why are you trying to locate him?"

"He has Pit," Marth explained, "We're going to get him back."

Zelda nodded, "I see. Very well, I will take you to him. I was hoping to find Link, but he's not in the room…"

The three ran out the hotel as Zelda tried to hail a taxi. After she barked some quick direction at the driver, she turned to Ike and Marth, "Why would Ganondork kidnap Pit? What did he ever do?"

Ike stared out the window, "It's all my fault."

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked.

"…It's a long story."

Marth turned his gaze to his comrade, "You avoided this question long enough. Tell the truth."

"Is that it?"

They were slowing up to a depilated old building. The three stepped out the car and Zelda jerked her head at the building, "He's inside. He knows we're here."

The two pulled out their swords and approached the building, wary of any attack that might come.

They walked further in, until they reached a large, spacious room cluttered with desks and chairs covered in a fine layer of dust.

Marth sneezed, "This place looks like it's been abandoned for years."

"Which makes it the perfect place for my hideout."

The three turned to find the source of the voice, who was none other than Ganondorf, lazily sitting down in one of the many swivel chairs.

Ike growled, "Ganondorf… What have you done with Pit?"

Ganondorf waved his hand, "He's perfectly fine, Ike… Or perhaps I should call you Roy?"

"Let him go, Ganon," Marth warned, "Or you'll regret it."

Ganondorf laughed, "I highly doubt that, young prince. You see, all three of you have fallen into my trap. I've been stringing you all along…"

Marth's eyes widened, "What?" A cloth was forced over his mouth and the need for sleep overcame him. He struggled, but his muscles felt like lead. He turned and saw that Ike and Zelda were in similar situations, unable to escape.

Marth didn't even feel hitting the floor.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Ike groggily returned to consciousness. _Where am I?_

He blearily looked around until his memory flooded back. They were attacked, and Ganon… It seemed they were taken deeper in to the building; the room was empty save for a few cardboard boxes and an old copy machine.

Ike was tied down to a chair with chains that even he couldn't break. "Dammit," He growled to himself. How could he have been so stupid to let them into this mess. Not only was Pit involved, but now Marth and Zelda.

The door creaked open, "Ah, you're awake." A hooded figure entered.

"Where are the others?"

The figure waved his hand, and the door slammed shut. "Allow me to show you."

Images flashed through Ike's head. Images of Pit hanging from the ceiling by chains, Marth in a cage, bruised and bloodied, Zelda on the ground, clothes torn and sullied.

Ike tried to leap out of the chair, "NO!!!"

A cold, cruel laugh echoed behind him, "You're so easily aggravated, Roy. Bring him in, Mewtwo."

The door opened again, and Marth floated in, supported by the hood figure. He was barely conscious, eyes almost completely devoid of life.

Ganondorf grabbed Ike's chin, "Well, now. If you had killed him when you were supposed to, you wouldn't be in this mess."

Marth's head suddenly snapped up, "What?"

"Oh, ho, so you haven't told him."

"Enough," Ike growled, "You say any more, Ganondorf, I will kill you."

"Well, it's such a shame that you would keep secrets from your best friend. Let's see… Where to start… Ah, the tournament. That was when you found out everything…"

**Flashback**

_Roy collapsed on to the bed, exhausted by the day's events. He had finally made it to the semifinals as had Marth. If all went well, they'd probably have to face each other… He was looking forward to it. It had been a while since they had battled each other to their fullest extent._

"_Hello, Roy."_

_Roy snapped up the bed, sword in hand, "Who's there?"_

_Ganondorf stood before him, a smirk on his lips, "Just a friend. It's taken me much effort, but I finally managed to catch up to you."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_I'm here to tell you the horrible truth, the truth about you and your friend, Marth."_

"_What truth? What about me and Marth?"_

"_You are not a true human."_

_Roy stared at Ganon and laughed, "Then what am I?"_

"_A clone. A clone created from Marth's genes."_

"_Uh, yeah, last time I checked, we look nothing like each other."_

"_But of course. If you two were identical then there would be no point."_

"_Uhuh, no point to what?"_

"_Your destiny."_

"_My destiny?"_

"_Yes… You see, Marth is the one destined to be sacrificed when this world is in need of a miracle. He will become that miracle, but he will die for it. His parents would not allow such a thing and so created you to take his place."_

"_That's ridiculous. I suggest you leave before I-"_

"_They created you to bear the burden, to become the sacrifice so that pampered prince could live on. Don't you think it's unfair? That you should die so he may live? How sad…"_

_Roy was silent, and Ganondorf continued on, "Perhaps if you kill him, you can live the way you should. The way you deserve. You will no longer have to live in his shadow if he is dead."_

_He tossed a bottle at Roy, "Use this poison on your blade. A single slice, no matter how shallow, will be fatal. So do try not to get yourself cut by your own blade…"_

**End Flashback**

Ganondorf gripped the chair tightly, "But you didn't kill him, Roy. You let him live and you ran away, living your life under a rock… until now. Why have you chosen to return, Roy, hmm?"

Marth stared at Ike, "Roy, tell me he's lying. That it's not the truth."

Ike kept his eyes lowered, unable to face his comrade.

"As touching as this may be, I want to get this over with. The sooner the prince is dead, the better. Mewtwo… Kill him. But prolong it as long as you can." Ganondorf walked out the door, "You will regret defying me, Roy. Each and every one of your friend will go through torture until they have nothing left. And then Mewtwo will kill them, right before your eyes. You will know true despair and hopelessness. And I hope that teaches you a lesson." Then he vanished into the shadows.

Mewtwo slammed Marth onto the ground, "What shall I try first? Perhaps…" He reached out with his telekinetic powers and twisted the intestines within Marth.

Marth screamed; he had never felt such intense pain, the organs inside him were squirming, moving, setting his body ablaze with agony.

Ike strained against his bonds, "No!! Stop it!!!" But the chains would not budge no matter how hard he pulled.

Marth cried out again; every cell felt like it was on fire, his skin burned and itched, his innards contorted, his blood boiling with pain. It had only been a minute but already he was wishing for death; anything was better than this torture.

Mewtwo flipped Marth onto his black and swiped with a lazy flick of the wrist, creating a large gash across Marth's torso. As immediately as it arrived, it healed, by some sort of supernatural power.

Mewtwo continued this, until Marth could bear it no more. His chest felt raw and sore; it was agonizing just to breathe.

Ike continued to struggle out of the chair, but to no avail. He just simply wasn't strong enough.

"Poor, poor boy," Mewtwo taunted, "You are weak, pathetic. You cannot do anything for your dying friend… How sad… How… pitiful." He lifted his hand, "I've done enough to this one… I think the angel will be my next victim… I'm sure his screams will be most delightful to listen to…"

After hearing those words, something in Ike snapped. He would not let any more of his friends be subjected to this insane Pokemon's tortures. He ripped out of the chains, letting only his fury, his rage fuel him. Mewtwo sent a telekinetic blast at him, but he barely felt it as he approached the Psychic Pokemon.

"You'll regret ever hurting him," were the last coherent words Mewtwo heard, and then Ike lunged at him.

Marth could vaguely heard sounds of crunching and howls of screams. Were they his? No… His throat was far too sore… He couldn't scream if he wanted to… Then who was it? Roy? Ike? …It was all too confusing… He blinked, trying to get rid of the haze over his eyes. What he saw he thought surely must be a dream. Or a nightmare.

Ike was standing over Mewtwo's mutilated carcass, which had been crushed in places, torn in others. Blood had spattered everywhere, and the gore was horrifying, but Marth barely noticed. He only saw the look of sad satisfaction upon Ike's face, his blood-stained hands.

"Ike…?" Math tried to call out. He wasn't sure if it was uttered, or even if Ike heard him. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the effort drained the last of his energy, and the darkness took him again.

**Hmm, this was a very dark, gory chapter… It makes depressed just thinking about it… I had trouble writing this chapter, mainly because all of it was targeted at Mewtwo and Marth. Poor guys… They went through a lot…**

**Yes, I killed Mewtwo. I'm sorry!!! I have nothing against him, it's just someone had to die by Ike's hand and Mewtwo was unlucky enough to get chosen. –shrugs-**

**Hope you guys liked it!!!**


	6. Attack

**Yay, another chapter!!! Woohoo!!!**

**Read and enjoy!!!**

**Chapter 6: Attack**

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, he's a tough guy. He'll be fine."

Marth stirred, and as he opened his eyes, bright light blinded him until his eyes adjusted and he could see the world around him. Pit was staring at him anxiously, "I think he's waking up."

Ike appeared into his vision, "What a relief."

"Where are we?" Marth croaked.

"Don't try to talk," Pit soothed, "We're in the hospital."

"Water," Marth said, trying to convey his thoughts in as few words as possible. Talking hurt.

Pit left the room to fetch a glass of water and only then did Marth notice that the poor angel was able to move about, but his wings were carefully wrapped in bandages as were other sections of his body.

Marth turned to Ike, "What I heard back there… Is that the truth? What you've been keeping from me this whole time?"

Ike sighed and slouched back into his seat, "Yes."

"You should have told me!!! I was involved and because of your pride, look at what happened." Marth remembered another piece of the story, "Clone? You're my clone?"

"There's no doubt about it," Ike said quietly, "Our DNA matches perfectly. I checked after we entered the tournament."

Marth slumped back, "I don't believe it. I can't believe my parents would do something so…"

"Mad scientist-like?"

Marth rubbed his forehead, "I just don't believe it."

"They hid a lot of things from you in order to protect you."

Marth snorted, "Oh, yeah. My destiny."

"It's not something you should joke about."

"Then are you suggesting that I take it seriously?"

Ike sighed, "Don't be difficult, Marth."

Marth scowled, "Why me? Why do I have to die to save the world?"

"If everything goes the way it should, you won't have to."

Marth stared at him, "You're okay with this? You don't mind dying?"

"It's why I came back. We all die eventually, and I'm glad I could die to save a friend."

Marth carefully looked into Ike's eyes, "You're lying." He realized what his friend was thinking, "You're just doing this out of duty. You actually believe in that destiny crap."

Ike stood up, "Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Marth leapt out of bed and grabbed Ike's shoulder, "You don't have to be like an emotionless robot all the time. You're a clone, but you're still human, aren't you?"

Pit walked in with a tray in hand and a glass of water and a plate of fruit balanced on top, "Here, Marth. You should eat."

Ike gently pulled out of Marth's grip, "I'll be back tomorrow." And he vanished out the door.

Pit set the tray on the table beside the bed. He turned to Marth, a stern look in his eye, "You shouldn't be moving around."

Marth reluctantly returned to the bed, "Did Ike tell you anything?"

Pit shrugged, "He told me those guys were after you two. Not much else, and I don't need to know. If you guys want to keep it to yourselves, I understand."

Marth sipped the water, "So have we been disqualified?"

"Well, after Ike explained what happened, the heads of the tournament decided to start and investigation and so the whole tournament's been put on hold. It's not likely that it'll continue."

"Hmm. I'm not sure whether to be upset or relieved. How are the wings holding up?"

Pit stretched partially and closed them again, "They'll be alright. I won't be able to fly for a while though. But really it's you we should be worrying about. You were unconscious for three days!!!"

Marth rubbed his forehead, "Three days, huh?"

Pit nodded, "You and Ike are old friends, huh?"

"How'd you guess?"

Pit shrugged, "You guys just seemed to know each other. You fight well together, and for those three days, Ike never left your side. I don't think he even slept as much as he should have." He scooted closer and leaned in, whispering, "Is he really Roy?"

Marth nodded, and Pit made an odd strangling sound of exuberance, "No way!! I can't believe I got to partner up with two of the greatest Brawlers of all time!!"

"It's not as great as you make it out to be."

Ike ran into the room, "Ganon's gone! He disappeared along with the rest of his teammates!!"

"So the coward ran away," Marth muttered.

Ike shook his head, "He hasn't given up. He won't give up until he's dead."

"So what do you propose we do?"

Ike looked around warily, "Get out of here ASAP. It's too open, easily accessed."

Marth rolled his eyes, "Aren't you being overtly cautious?"

"I'm supposed to keep you safe, and I'm going to do all I can to make sure of that."

Marth narrowed his eyes, "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"That's what you'd like to think. But Ganon's probably has something planned to kill you, and I can't let that happen. No matter what."

"Fine. Where are we going?"

"We can go to my place," Pit offered, "It should be safe there."

Ike looked hesitant, "Pit, I don't want to involve you any more."

Pit pouted, "Save it. I already know what you're gonna say, but nothing'll convince me."

Ike grinned and patted Pit's head, "Thanks."

"No problemo." Pit trotted out the door, "I'll go ask a doctor about discharging Marth. I'll be right back."

Ike nodded and sat down on a chair next to Marth, "We'll stay at Pit's until you're fully recovered. And then we can worry about what Ganondorf will do next."

"Explain everything to me."

"That's a lot to explain."

Marth crossed his arms, "I need to hear it. From the beginning."

Ike sighed, "Alright. You should know. Everything then, from the beginning."

"When you were born, there was a prophecy made by a certain wise woman. She said you would save the world from a great disaster, but you would give up your life doing so. It would happen on your eighteenth birthday, so you parents began to make plans to prevent your death. They initiated a cloning program, and after months of research resulted in my creation.

"The rest mainly consists of what you remember. We grew up together, oblivious to what was to be our destinies. Then Ganondorf approached me and told me the truth. After the events of the tournament, I left to confirm what he said.

Ike exhaled heavily, "Unbelievably, it was the truth. Everything. After confirming the truth, I decided I would protect you. Just as I was meant to. But I couldn't let Ganon figure out it was me, so I fled. So I left, knowing that you'd be safe until Ganon formed a new plan, and I spent the years to form a new persona for myself. And then I became Ike."

"But he figured out it was you."

"Yeah. I don't know how."

"What do you think Ganon's planning?"

"This tournament was to taunt us," Ike said quietly, "It's how he likes to do things. He's trying to show us that he won't be able to escape, that he'll find us no matter what we do."

"I think he wants to take revenge on you as well," Marth said thoughtfully, "Since you ruined his first plan."

Ike nodded, "There is that."

"Huh. The only solution, it seems, is to get rid of Ganondorf."

"Easier said than done."

Marth rubbed his eyes tiredly; he was starting to feel sleepy, probably due to the wounds.

Ike stood up, "You should get some more sleep. I'll be outside."

Marth flopped back into bed, too exhausted to reply. Just talking had drained his strength; his body still wasn't even close to good condition. The last thing he heard was the door opening and closing as Ike left the room and then he slipped into darkness.

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

Bowser stomped into the dimly lit room and knelt before Ganondorf, "He has arrived."

Ganondorf was seated comfortably in a throne chair positioned in the center of a circular dais, legs crossed, and his face resting on his fist, "Let him in."

Bowser gestured with his head and a winged figure entered the room. His face was obscured by the shadows of the room, but when he spoke, a musical, lilting voice filled the void, "I do hope this is worthwhile. I'd rather you didn't waste my time."

Ganondorf smirked, "We know the location of Pit, the one you're hunting down."

"Hmph. And in exchange for that location, you want?"

"I want you to bring in his comrades, alive, to me."

"Too easy. Is there a catch?"

Ganon chuckled, "No catch. But I'll warn you, these two are strong."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Where are they?"

I'll have Bowser take you there. He could prove of some assistance, should you need any."

"I doubt it."

"But take it, nevertheless."

"Fine, whatever. Let's go, hot stuff."

Bowser snorted in response and stomped out of the room, gesturing for the figure to follow him.

Ganondorf smiled as the two left the room. Let's see them avoid this…

**o.O.o.O.o.O.o**

"Marth? Maaaarth?"

Marth snuggled deeper into the fluff and moaned, "Go away."

"You need to eat."

Marth blearily opened his eyes and realized he was no longer in the hospital. He was on a rather comfortable cloud heaped with blankets, comforters, and an assortment of pillows.

Pit was sitting beside him, a tray placed on his lap. A steaming bowl of porridge was at the center along with a spoon and a glass of water.

Marth slowly got up, "Nice place."

Pit dipped he spoon into the porridge, "Thanks."

Marth took the spoon from Pit's grasp; he wasn't exactly in top shape, but he could feed himself, "Where's Ike?"

Pit scooted closer so Marth could access his food more easily, "Sleeping in the other room. He carried you all the way here, you know."

Marth picked at the food, suddenly not quite so hungry, "You know, Pit-"

"Heh. It's been a long while, angel."

Pit turned, and his jaw dropped when he saw who was standing at the door, "You!!"

Dark Pit leaned casually against the doorway, cocky smirk on his face, "I have a name, you know."

"What are you doing here?" Pit snarled. Marth was taken aback by Pit's harsh tone; normally the boy was soft-spoken and sweet, but this newcomer had caused a complete one-eighty in Pit's attitude.

Marth glanced at Dark Pit, wondering if the eerie similarity between them had anything to do with Pit's hostility. Either way, this guy was bad news.

Dark Pit tilted his head, "I've been searching for you for a long time, Pit. You see, after you humiliatingly defeated me in our last battle, I scoured the ends of the earth, trying to find where you disappeared to. But I never did find you." His eyes glimmered, "Until now. But I'm curious. Why did you run?"

"Get out. Now." Pit's voice was laced with malice, his face twisted by rage.

Dark Pit's smirk widened, "You want to attack, don't you? Just do it."

Pit's grip on his daggers tightened until his knuckles turned white, and Marth struggled to his feet, "You heard him. Get out before you're forced out."

"Pathetic human. I'd love to see you try."

"You asked for it." Marth darted in first, trying to catch Dark Pit by surprise. But he was easily blocked by daggers, which were identical to Pit's.

Marth pulled back and thrust in with a quick Shield Breaker, but this time he was evaded. He growled in frustration and tried a Dancing Blade, hoping to confuse Dark Pit with his whirling blades, but once again, he was met with failure. Dammit, these wounds were slowing him down too much… If only he was faster…

Dark Pit chuckled, "You're not exactly proving to be much of a challenge, human." He spun his dagger around and shoved the blunt heel of it into Marth's stomach, "So I suggest you stay out of the way."

Marth fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen. He was still weak… Damn it all. If he hadn't been so beaten up by that Mewtwo, it would be the dark angel on the floor, not him.

Dark Pit lazily spun his daggers, "So… Are you going to fight or not? I hope you're not expecting Ike to come in and save you. He's probably being taken care of by my comrade."

"NO!!" Pit lunged into action, daggers whirling as he rushed his dark counterpart.

Dark Pit laughed and dodged, "There we go!! You see, isn't is so much better to just let it all out?"

"Shut up!!" Pit screamed as he sliced at him with a wild barrage.

Dark Pit evaded every blow, "That's right, Pit. Get angry, just like you did when I killed your family."

Pit stopped his onslaught, eyes twin pools of burning hatred, "I'm going to kill you."

"Then come and get me. If you can."

Pit attacked again, but his movements were controlled, fluid, no longer a disorderly rain of slashes. He danced around Dark Pit, pouncing upon every opportunity, until finally he had the tip of his dagger resting against Dark Pit's throat.

Dark Pit looked supremely unconcerned, "There you go, Pit. Now… Take it. Steal it from me, just like I did with your parents."

Pit's hand shook as he struggled with the choice, and Dark Pit sighed, "Weak." He knocked aside Pit's blade and began his own assault, his daggers whirling blurs that attacked from all angles.

Pit was clearly struggling, but Marth couldn't find the strength to get up and help.

Again, he was helpless.

Again, he couldn't do anything.

Dammit.

After blocking a particularly tricky blow from Dark Pit, Pit left himself open, and his opponent quickly took the chance to disarm him.

Pit's daggers went flying through the air and landed a few feet behind him, well out of reach.

Dark Pit advanced forward, running his tongue along the bladed edge of his dagger, "Now, Pit… You die."

Pit bowed his head down in resignation, but his lips were moving, muttering something.

"Any last words?"

Pit smiled and lifted his arms, "Palutena, give me strength."

A blinding, but gentle light shone from Pit's wings, and a howl of pain could be heard.

Dark Pit fled as he snarled, "You got away this time, Pit, but next time I'll make sure your goddess won't be there to safe you."

The light slowly disappeared, and Pit fell to his knees, the exhaustion hit him full force. Thank the goddess… He had only survived with her help.

Ike ran into the room, "You guys alright?" He knelt down beside Marth, "You don't look too good."

Marth waved him aside, "I'm fine. Just my pride that's injured."

Pit helped Marth back into bed and started cleaning up the mess created by the porridge, which had been spilled in all the excitement.

"Who was that guy?" Marth asked quietly.

Pit scooped up the porridge into an already stained blanket, "I met him back when I served Palutena at the temple. He had been created by the evil goddess, Medusa, to fight me."

"Is that why he looks like you?"

"Yeah. Medusa knew of my strength, so she wanted it for her own. Even though, he was my equal, I managed to defeat him with Palutena's help. But he went after my parents as revenge, and..."

"You ran away?" Marth guessed, remembering their earlier conversation.

"Like a coward," Pit said bitterly, "I was afraid. Afraid that he wouldn't stop at my parents, that he would go after my friends…"

Ike gently placed a hand on Pit's shoulder, "That's nothing to be ashamed of. You were trying to protect them."

"…Yeah." Pit stood up, "I'm gonna clean this up." He exited the room, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence between the two swordsmen.

"We really should move someplace else," Marth said, "It's too dangerous to stay here, especially since they know we're here."

Ike nodded, "I guess we don't have much of a choice then. I've found a place, and I'll get us ready to move in an hour or so."

"Sounds good."

After thoroughly checking to make sure Marth wasn't severely wounded, Ike left to make the preparations.

Marth exhaled heavily and closed his eyes.

Just as Ike had said, Ganondorf would not let them slip so easily out of his clutches.

Well, that was just fine. The next time Ganondorf tried to attack them, Marth would be ready.

And that asshole was going to be sorry.

**And, everyone say hello to Dark Pit!!! Hehe, just had to include them in there ^_^**

**And now, you know a bit about Pit's morbid past, oh the tragedy… the poor kid… But he's so chipper, I know…**

**Hope you guys liked it!!!**

**Little rant, you can ignore everything in this paragraph. You know, its really hard to write a non-yaoi story when there's a yaoi couple right in your face. I mean, come on… MarthxIke DUH!!! I'm trying to keep it friendly, but its SO hard not to have Ike just jump Marth and rip off his clothes and ravish his skin until dawn… Bleah… Oh, well, I'll just have to work hard at it. It's actually kinda entertaining, I suppose, even though I'm bitching about it. Well, I'll try hard!!! Ganbarimasu!!**


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